Interesting Read On Hours Of Service.

Link is below wasn't sure how to connect it to here.

https://www.overdriveonline.com/fmcsa-wants-feedback-on-hours-of-service-reforms-14-hour-rule-split-sleeper-30-minute-break-on-the-table/

Here it is as a link.

I want to hear some of the veteran drivers opinions on this one. IMHO I can see arguments from both sides of the fence. I used to drive a tow truck on call 24/7. The fatigue can be cranked up to a level that would drive most people crazy from time to time. I had a great time at it for quite a while. Just to be honest I think it should be left to the drivers discretion and made very clear that the driver will be held legally/financially responsible in the event of an incident found to be their fault. To quote someone from another thread “21 is the general entry into the industry. We’re all adults here.” I’ll say let’s accept the responsibility for our own actions. I won’t forget about the devils advocate view on my opinion. But the number of accidents will skyrocket! I agree with you 100%! That’s why the government has issued the rules we must follow. People abused the system out of greed and ruined it for those who responsibly pushed themselves. It all goes back to the argument of common sense(which seems to be lacking these days) and the fact some people either don’t use it or have it.

Brad the changes up for review aren’t likely to increase accidents. What makes you think that?

Abusing the system is next to impossible now because of e-logs. Every company in this link; Trucking Company Reviews must have some form of e-log system in place.

At least at Swift, habitual HOS violations earns you a spot in the naughty chair at a logs class. Everything we do is electronically recorded and subject to analytics that quickly flag abusers. And trust me, they are dealt with quickly at most every company.

If a driver chooses to do something other than sleep (like gaming) during the 10 hour break, they are definitely responsible for their self-imposed fatigue and anything they damage. There are truckers who face jail time as a result of their ignorance and ambivalence.

My apologies for the lack of clarity. The proposed changes most likely won’t increase or decrease the number of accidents. My opinion of the fact hours of service should be unregulated and at the drivers discretion would increase the number of accidents. If a person functions well with less sleep than the average person then they should be able to utilize that ability. If a person functions on an average amount of sleep they should have the sense to shut down when they are tired. I understand the reason the regulations were put in place(including eld’s) and that is because in the eras before hours of service and eld’s people abused the freedoms the system allowed and put lives at risk in the best case scenarios.

If a person functions well with less sleep than the average person then they should be able to utilize that ability. If a person functions on an average amount of sleep they should have the sense to shut down when they are tired.

Unfortunately there's no scientific way to prove how much sleep any individual needs, nor is that a consistent thing. There's no such thing as someone who always operates well on a certain amount of sleep all the time. There will be fluxuations depending on their physical activity, the quality of their sleep, their anxiety levels, and the quality of their health at any given time.

I understand the reason the regulations were put in place(including eld’s) and that is because in the eras before hours of service and eld’s people abused the freedoms the system allowed and put lives at risk in the best case scenarios.

There's no such thing as successful self-regulating of anything that is performance based. You can't have self-regulated sports because people will cheat to win. You can't have self-regulated businesses because people will lie, cheat, steal, and collude to make more money. You can't even have a self-regulated society because people will lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead at all sorts of things.

Truckers cheated the logbook because you either made more money that way or you had more flexibility in your schedule that way. They did whatever they could to gain an advantage for themselves, which is human nature, but it can and will be carried too far sometimes.

I think it should be left to the drivers discretion.........but the number of accidents will skyrocket!

Wow. Ok, so way more people will get killed but you're all for it? That's probably why the FMCSA hasn't asked for your opinion, and hopefully won't.

Okay...

So if you take away all regulations, there will be trucking companies that force a driver to continue driving through and while exhausted. Are you suggesting that’s a good thing? Cause I guarantee it will happen...

I would argue vehemently that distracted driving, habitual tailgating and driving too fast for conditions are far more lethal than cheating on log books ever was.

Those three things occurred before e-logs and they occured after mass adoption of e-logs.

My fault, I should have kept my opinion out of this topic. (Especially since I am studying for cdl still)... how do y’all feel about the proposed changes up for comment?

People tend to think that they need less sleep than they really need. One thing about the Navy is that we worked tired allot. The problem is long term fatigue. That causes slower reactions and mental errors. Even when you think that you're getting enough sleep but if it's less than 6 to 8 hours you might be having long term fatigue which takes more than just one night if good sleep it takes regular good sleeping habits. If you are only getting say 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night you might think that you are at 100% but your probably not.